JD Wetherspoon court case against former property supplier delayed

JD Wetherspoon’s attempt to claim millions of pounds in damages from its former sole property supplier Van de Berg & Co, has been delayed until next autumn.

The pub company said in a statement that following its initial claim for damages in March 2005, which related to four property transactions, new breaches of contract had come to light and a second action launched.

Van de Berg, based in Pinner, Middlesex, was retained by Wetherspoon's from 1990 to 2005 to act as an exclusive introducer of freehold properties.

Wetherspoon's alleged in March that Van de Berg and several formerly associated companies had bought freeholds that should have been offered to Wetherspoon's but were let to rival companies, or were only offered to Wetherspoon's as leaseholds.

Wetherspoon, which since the original writ has had a legal team pour over 3,000 property transaction files supplied by Van de Berg, has now made a second claim for damages.

In the statement yesterday Wetherpoon said: “This new claim relates to 10 different property transactions in respect of which Wetherspoon’s allege serious breaches of contract and fiduciary duty”.

As a result, it has been decided that the trial on the first case, which came to court this week, should now be heard alongside the trial on the new, second case, some time after 1 October 2007.

Wetherspoon said it was “pleased that this very serious matter will be heard by the courts next year.”

Van de Berg has refuted the allegations.

Property agent launches counter-claim against JD Wetherspoon >>

Wetherspoon's in multimillion claim over property deals >>

By Chris Druce

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